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Cain: 'Too bad' if black voters offended by ‘brainwashed’ comment

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain stood by his contention that black voters shy away from the GOP because they have been "brainwashed" into voting for Democrats.

Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Cain, the lone African-American among the GOP presidential hopefuls, said that it was "too bad" if black voters were offended by his suggestion they were not thinking for themselves.

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"If the word is inflammatory, that's too bad, it's true," he said. "And here's why: because some black people won't even listen to someone who appears to be a conservative or a Republican. I call that brainwashing."

Pressed by host Christiane Amanpour about whether black voters traditionally supported Democrats because they disagreed with Republican policies, Cain said "I say that the reason they don't see them as meeting their demands of what they're looking for is because they have not looked at them.”

"My economic growth and jobs plan, as an example, is not partisan," he said. "It is a solution that benefits everybody, especially the African-American community."

Cain has made controversial statements about black voting patterns before, referring to the Democratic party as a "plantation" in March.

Another prominent black Republican, freshman Florida Rep. Allen West, has made similar comments, calling himself "a modern day Harriet Tubman" and the Democratic Party "a 21st Century" plantation.